The case remains in the jurisdiction of the 3rd Circuit court. There, Thursday, a three-judge panel ordered U.S. Middle District Court Judge John E. Jones III to explain why he granted Michael a "certificate of appealability" allowing him to take his case from Middle District court to the 3rd Circuit, the next highest court.

Jones was directed to respond to the 3rd Circuit within 14 days after the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and Michael's attorneys supply him with briefs in support or opposition of the already-issued appeal certificate.

Friday, Jones ordered the defense to file a brief by Nov. 13. He ordered the commonwealth to respond by Nov. 16. And, he said he will allow the defense to reply to the commonwealth's brief by Nov. 19.

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That would place Michael's case entirely before the 3rd Circuit by Dec. 3.

The 3rd Circuit court judges, headed by Judge Thomas L. Ambro, said they will set an "expedited" briefing schedule for the commonwealth and defense after hearing from Jones.

In briefs filed this past week in Middle District court, the 3rd Circuit Court and the U.S. Supreme Court on that same matter, the commonwealth argued Jones wrongly granted the appeal certificate without identifying the issues to be appealed.

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And, compounding the error according to the commonwealth, the 3rd Circuit then granted the stay of execution on the "erroneous" certificate.

The defense argued that Jones had recognized that issues in Michael's case "are debatable and deserve appellate review."

If Michael loses this appeal and the stay is lifted, and absent any other avenue of appeal, Corbett is required by law to sign another death warrant within 30 days and set an execution date no later than 60 days from signing that warrant.

Here is where any time span for Michael winning his appeal or returning to Rockview for execution gets sketchy.

It has been more than 19 years since Michael kidnapped 16-year-old Trista Eng on July 12, 1993, as she was walking to work. He shot her three times and left her body on state game lands in Warrington Township.

He then fled the state and was picked up in Utah two weeks later on a fugitive warrant for jumping bail on an unrelated Lancaster County rape charge.

While in Lancaster County Prison, Michael told his brother about the murder.

Boyd Michael led authorities to Eng's body on Aug. 25, 1993.

Then charged with murder, Michael escaped from prison in November 1993 after assuming the identity of another inmate who was scheduled for release. He was captured in New Orleans in March 1994.

He changed his mind repeatedly about pleading or going to trial before finally pleading guilty to Eng's murder on Oct. 11, 1994.

He then unsuccessfully tried to withdraw that plea.

In March 1995, he offered no mitigating reasons against the death penalty and was sentenced to death. He said then he hoped his automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court would be concluded quickly.

He said he just wanted to "get it over with."

In the 17-plus years since his sentencing, Michael has faced three death warrants -- signed by governors in 1996, 2004 and September -- never coming closer to execution than he did on Thursday.

During that same time frame, Michael filed and withdrew appeals, again and again sought the dismissal of his attorneys -- who still represent him -- asked that they be re-appointed to his case and waived and then fought to reclaim his appeal rights.

How long could this all take?

Friday, Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, spokesman for the attorney general's office, said, "That's not something we will speculate about right now."

What happened Thursday

--- Hubert Michael Jr. was scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m.

--- Thursday afternoon, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Michael a stay of execution, saying that U.S. Middle District Court Judge John Jones should have issued a stay when he ruled Michael could appeal his case to the 3rd Circuit.

--- The state attorney general's office filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to reverse the 3rd Circuit's decision and allow the execution to proceed as scheduled.

--- Around 8:30 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court denied the AG office's appeal.